Trivia: Chloe wears a necklace that's made of three bullets throughout the game. This is commonly viewed as either representing the three people who "abandoned" her and thus hurt her (her father, Max and Rachel Amber), or representing three times Chloe is murdered during the game - When she is shot by Nathan at the start, when she is shot by Jefferson in chapter four, and when Max can chose to sacrifice her to save the town in Chapter Five.
Trivia: Spoilers: Originally, the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" ending was meant to be longer and more involved, and feature several other scenes and moments to wrap up the story. Due to time and budgetary constraints, the developers were forced to remove many of the elements of the ending in order to get both endings done on time for release. The game's artistic director stated that the ending is meant to imply that it's a "new beginning" for Chloe and Max (implying Chloe has escaped her seemingly predestined early death), and that the ending is also meant to solidify that the two friends still love each other, and from now on will be together forever.
Trivia: Originally intended to be a stand-alone story, the game was eventually followed up with both a prequel (in the form of the 2017 video-game "Before the Storm"), and a sequel in the form of a comic-book, which began release in November 2018. Spoilers. Publisher Square-Enix oversaw production of the comic, and it follows the game's "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" ending. (Though the comic notes that given the game's multiple endings, it's only one of many possible timelines to occur after the game).
Trivia: The game is filled with references. Throughout the game, many license plates on in-game cars reference TV-shows. (Such as one that says "brkbd" - for "Breaking Bad.") In episode five, many of the surnames on the list of the "Everyday Hero" contest winners are references to famous authors. Max shares the same surname as the lead character Holden Caulfield in the novel "Catcher in the Rye," and the player can find a cute in-game reference to the red cap Holden often wears in episode three.
Trivia: Spoilers. Originally, the game was planned to have a secret third ending that combined elements from both the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" and "Sacrifice Chloe" endings. Max would choose to save the town instead of Chloe, and would travel back in time to the instant Nathan killed her. However, this time, the game cuts forward, and Chloe is revealed to be in a coma in the hospital, having somehow miraculously survived the gunshot in this new timeline. Max is unsure when or if she will wake up, but she's alive, and the town is safe, ending the game on a still sobering but ultimately happier note than the two other endings. The developers ultimately cut the ending, feeling that giving the players a more black-and-white philosophical choice (saving Chloe at the expense of the town, or saving the town at the expense of Chloe) was more appropriate for the game.
Trivia: The game deals with some important modern issues, including cyber-bullying and teen suicide. Square-Enix, publisher of the game, ended up using the game to raise awareness of these topics, donating to anti-bullying advocacy groups and making promotional videos featuring the characters from the game talking about these topics.
Trivia: One of the optional photos that can be taken in Episode 2 is a bit of graffiti in the bathroom that reads "Firewalk with Me." That is the name of a spin-off movie of the series "Twin Peaks." "Twin Peaks" was notably one of the influences behind "Life is Strange." There are also several other minor "Twin Peaks" easter-eggs hidden throughout the game.
Trivia: The game was released by Square-Enix. The developers threw in some references to other Square releases as a reference to this fact. Most notably being that Max will mention the film "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" and the character Lara Croft from the game "Tomb Raider" if the player optionally examines select items. (With Square having produced the "Final Fantasy" series, in addition to releasing the rebooted "Tomb Raider" series).
